The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts

The Go! Team didn't just arrive on the British music scene in 2004 with their debut Thunder, lightning, Strike, their unique brand of horns, bells, noise-infested guitars, scratches, playground rants and chants breathed a whole new life into the british indie scene. Their belligerent full tilt pastiche continues into this their third album, Rolling Blackouts.

Opening track 'Tornado', pretty much does what it says on the tin, with rapper Ninja's wanton vox interlacing neatly with the bouncing beats and 70s TV themed musical arrangement and its unforgiving foot to floor stomp is simply irresistible to dislike. One thing to bear in mind when listening to Rolling Blackouts is that you are not hearing a band in transition or looking to experiment. It's basically more of the same and if you're looking for a raft of household changes you're not going to get it. This is not to paint the album in a bad light, and if anything, 'Ready to Go Steady' demonstrates a slightly less rapped vocal and more of a girl group approach, something more akin to The Supremes with those distinct Motown handclaps while still retaining The Go! Team trademark production sound.

The massed ranks of horns along with what sounds like the European triangle mountain return in attack mode with 'Bust Out Brigade'. 'Super Triangle' is like the fade out from some classic 70s/80s TV show, demonstrating main-man Ian Parton's love of all things old school which work with the whole Go! Team aesthetic.'Yosemite Theme' features a heap of C&W, banjo and the entire cast of long-running western show Bonanza and is a soothing respite when juxtaposed next to their standard car-crash forays.

They close out with the fruity bouncy 'Back Like 8 Track' and once again, you know why you fell in love with all things Go! Team. Welcome back, Team, we've missed you.